In Your Presence

Fr. Eric Nicolai preached this meditation at Kintore College, Toronto, on March 25, 2026. There is something there that we must learn about this gift of hearing in the annunciation. Paintings of the scene often show words that come forth from the angel’s mouth, floating through the air to Mary, while she is in a receptive position, the contrapposto, this bending of her body, as though the very wor...

A meditation preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai at Ashlar Centre in Toronto, on March 22, 2026. In the year 2001 it was exciting because we were entering a new millennium. Pope John Paul II invited us to launch out into the deep, in Latin, Duc in altum (Apostolic letter, Novo millennio ineunte, 2001): He said: Duc in altum! These words ring out for us today, and they invite us to remember the past with...

A meditation preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai at Ernescliff College, March 19, 2026. There is a passage from Colossians that appeared in yesterday’s vespers to Saint Joseph. It applies to him, and to us. Colossians 3:23-24 : "Whatever your work is, put your heart into it as if it were for the Lord and not for men, knowing that the Lord will repay you by making you his heirs. It is Christ the Lord...

A meditation preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai on March 12 at Kintore College, Toronto. Today’s Gospel from Luke 11:14-23, tells us that Jesus was casting out a demon that was dumb; when the demon had gone out, the dumb man spoke and the people marvelled. Those who opposed him said that he had done this through the power of Belzebul, through the devil. But Jesus easily responds that this would be the d...

Fr. Eric Nicolai preached this meditation on March 8, 2026 in Ernescliff College, Toronto. It is similar to the previous day's meditation in Lyncroft centre, titled "Begone Satan!". Conversion, like Jesus at the well, is first and foremost an initiative of God. We respond with our freedom. It’s in that most intimate part of ourselves, where the image of God deep within us, needs to b...

A meditation preached at Lyncroft Centre in Toronto, on March 7, 2026. The devil tempts Jesus in the desert. Jesus is impeccable (unable to sin) in virtue of the hypostatic union, yet truly tempted from without in His human nature, in the sense of being really “assaulted” by the devil, not in the sense of interior consent or moral peril. Traditionally, this scene in the desert is a contrast with A...

Luke 16:19-31: Dives and Lazarus. Jesus tells this account of the rich man who feasted and seemed to enjoy life, but was oblivious to the poverty and the suffering of Lazarus, the poor man. It is an account that is full of details that fills us with revulsion, with shock and the callousness of the rich man. We are particularly grieved by his lack of empathy. He seems so unconcerned to help, to all...

A meditation preached to priests at the Manoir de Beaujeu, east of Montreal, March 1, 2026. Mt 8:26: "It is good to be with you here, Lord." For the apostles, this moment involved all their senses: the sudden otherworldly luminosity, the towering figure of Jesus together with Moses and Elijah, the thundering voice of God the Father, the cloud covering them, the fragrance in the wind, and...

A meditation preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai at Kintore College, Toronto, on February 21, 2026. Today’s Gospel gives us a brief snapshot of the call of Levi, or Matthew, the tax collector. Right there, at his post, doing his job, at the customs post, Jesus called him. He walked in, looked at him, and, like in slow motion, Matthew got up, and followed him (Luke 5:27). In front of the grumbling, the Lo...

A meditation preached on February 19, 2026, at Kintore College, Toronto. In his 2026 message for Lent, Pope Leo speaks about listening. The willingness to listen is the first way we demonstrate our desire to enter into a relationship with someone. Then he refers to the image of Moses standing in front of the burning bush. He says: In revealing himself to Moses in the burning bush, God himself teac...

A meditation preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai at Kintore College in Toronto, on February 11, 2026, the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes. The Lord speaks today about the kind of openness to God’s love we must have in the events of our life. He promises real resilience for us if we see his hand in our life. Mark 7:14-23 : At that time: Jesus called the people to him again and said to them, ‘Hear me, all of...

Fr. Eric Nicolai preached this meditation at Ernescliff College on January 26, 2026. Mark 3:22-30: The scribes who had come down from Jerusalem were saying, ‘Beelzebul is in him’ and, ‘It is through the prince of devils that he casts devils out.’ So he called them to him and spoke to them in parables, ‘How can Satan cast out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot last....

Fr. Eric Nicolai preached this meditation on retreat to priests at the Manoir de Beaujeu, in Coteau du lac, near Montreal, Canada. At his most urgent hour, when the apostles are on retreat with their Lord in the garden, a place far away from the hubbub of the crowds, the Lord lets go a searing complaint to his priests: “What! Could none of you stay awake with me one hour?” (Matt 26, 40) We have to...

A meditation preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai at Lyncroft Centre in Toronto, January 18, 2026. Today’s Gospel presents the account of Jesus' baptism seen through the lens of John the Evangelist. Its the Evangelist’s take. The Baptist appears in the description. (John 1:29-34). But John the Evangelist here interprets the baptism not simply as an event , but as a revelation of identity and mission ....

A meditation preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai to university students at Ernescliff College, Toronto, on January 16, 2026. The account of the paralytic lowered by his friends in front of Jesus. Mark 2:1-12: When Jesus returned to Capernaum after some days, it was reported that he was at home. And many were gathered together, so that there was no more room, not even at the door. And he was preaching the...

Meditation preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai at Kintore College, Toronto,on January 7, 2026. Mark 6, 45-52: "When it was evening, the boat was far out on the sea and he was alone on shore. Then he saw that they were tossed about while rowing, for the wind was against them. About the fourth watch of the night, he came toward them walking on the sea. He meant to pass by them. But when they saw him w...

Fr. Eric Nicolai preached this meditation at Lyncroft Centre in Toronto, on January 2, 2026. Acts of the Apostles repeatedly describes the Apostles speaking with parrhesia —freedom, frankness, fearless speech (Acts 2:29; 4:13, 29, 31). They had received the spirit of adoption. Of divine filiation. Paul still throbs with this parrhesia, the thrill that he witnessed in the apostles. “ You did not re...

A meditation preached on January 31, 2025, last day of the year, at Lyncroft centre. Traditionally, in the old Mass, after the priest had given the blessing, before returning to the sacristy, he would read the prologue of John’s Gospel about the preexistence of the Word, from all eternity that had now become flesh. This Gospel was a way to seal the Mass with the mystery of the incarnation, remindi...

A Christmas Eve Meditation to families at Kintore College, on December 24th, 2025. Luke 2, 1-14: The account of the decree and the shepherds Today in the town of David a saviour has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. And here is a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.’ And suddenly with the angel there was a great throng of the heavenly host,...

A meditation preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai at Hawthorn School for Girls in Toronto, on December 17, 2025. As we move forward into the countdown to Christmas, the Church presents us with the Gospel of Matthew that transmits to us the most famous genealogical tree in history. The origins of Jesus, the Messiah. It was written in a way that made it easier to remember. There were fourteen from Abraham t...

A meditation preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai to priests of the priests of the Archdiocese of Toronto, in the parish of St. Edward the Confessor. Today the church celebrates the 15th-century Saint Juan Diego from Mexico, with an unpronounceable last name. He was surnamed Cuauhtlatoatzin. The account of her appearance transformed Mexico. She can transform us, too. Music: Bert Alink, Adeste fideles, gui...

Fr. Eric Nicolai preached this meditation on December 8th, 2025 at Lyncroft Centrre in Toronto. It has been worthwhile to prepare this solemnity because it tells us something hopeful about God’s plan of salvation, his desire for our redemption. He could count on this woman, not as a mere instrument, but as a free and active cooperator that was beautifully prepared and primed for the great work of...

A meditation preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai at Lyncroft Centre, Toronto on December 6, 2025. The hymn of Our Lady, the Magnificat, (Luke 1, 46-55) is a pause in the infancy narrative, so that we can meditate on the events. It is as though we had to pause, think, catch our breath, and pray. “My soul magnifies the Lord,      and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,  for he has looked on the humble est...

Fr. Eric Nicolai preached this meditation on December 6, 2025 in Lyncroft Centre, Toronto. The theme of the Visitation (cf. Lk 1:39-45). It starts with the annunciation in which the angel informs Mary about two miracles: she will be both virgin and mother of the Messiah, and Elizabeth will give birth, even in her old age. Mary goes with haste to bring her joy, and spread it to others in the family...

A meditation preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai at Kintore College in Toronto on December 3, 2025, on the feast of Saint Francis Xavier. Matthew 15:29–37 recounts Jesus healing many sick people by the Sea of Galilee. Matthew tells us about how there were large crowds of people . They were not just numbers to him, or statistics. They brought these people to him. The illnesses were varied. He made them wh...